Hi BillyG
Thank you for your question.
The two roles are very different and each need to be considered carefully.
An Executor is appointed in your Will to carry out the administration of an estate. Put simply, an Executor calls in the assets of someone who has died, pays off their debts and then distributes the balance to the beneficiaries. This role only lasts until the administration of your estate has been finalised.
You can have a maximum of four Executors and they can be family, friends, professional people and companies or a mixture of these.
A Trustee is legally responsible for the assets held in trust and they will carry out the administration of the trust. You can either appoint personal trustees (family or friends) or professional trustees (a solicitor or accountant) or an organisation, such as a bank or a Trust Company. As with your Executors, you can have a mixture of Trustees. I would advise you to appoint at least two trustees to manage the trust, but you can appoint up to a maximum of four. A Trustee’s role can last for many years until they are unable or unwilling to carry on acting as a Trustee or until the trust comes to an end.
It is common for people to appoint the same people to be their Executors and Trustees but they can be different if this is more appropriate for your circumstances.
If you need any more information about the duties and responsibilities of Executors and Trustees then please let me know.
Kind regards
Katherine
